1984
Author: George Orwell
Year of publication: 1949
Plot summary: Winston Smith lives in a futuristic London where the Thought Police monitors your every movement and Big Brother and the Party rules all. Is Winston the only one to feel that something is wrong?
When I read this the first time, in Swedish, I was twelve, and I was less than impressed. Now, six years, extra knowledge in different ideologies, many hours of history studies and two philosophy courses later, "1984", this time read in its original language, does more than impress me. I'm fascinated, not just by the sheer imagination of this mid 20th century writer, but by his political intelligence. It's not simply a satire of the Soviet, it's every one-party society that ever existed, whether right-wing or left-wing, it's every dictatorship throughout history. It is also an excellent application of and discussion on scepticism and solipsism; Orwell handles for ever debatable questions such as what true knowledge is, or if there even is such a thing as true knowledge, and whether we can really be sure that anything exists outside our own mind. "1984" is, along with its counterpart "Animal Farm", a testimony to the sharpness of Orwell's mind.
Year of publication: 1949
Plot summary: Winston Smith lives in a futuristic London where the Thought Police monitors your every movement and Big Brother and the Party rules all. Is Winston the only one to feel that something is wrong?
When I read this the first time, in Swedish, I was twelve, and I was less than impressed. Now, six years, extra knowledge in different ideologies, many hours of history studies and two philosophy courses later, "1984", this time read in its original language, does more than impress me. I'm fascinated, not just by the sheer imagination of this mid 20th century writer, but by his political intelligence. It's not simply a satire of the Soviet, it's every one-party society that ever existed, whether right-wing or left-wing, it's every dictatorship throughout history. It is also an excellent application of and discussion on scepticism and solipsism; Orwell handles for ever debatable questions such as what true knowledge is, or if there even is such a thing as true knowledge, and whether we can really be sure that anything exists outside our own mind. "1984" is, along with its counterpart "Animal Farm", a testimony to the sharpness of Orwell's mind.
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